The left picture is a Long leaf pine forest in Blackwater State Forest.
These rolling hills of clay and sand are part of the remaining Long-leaf Pine
savannas in the Southeastern US. In the Blackwater State Forest, these lands
are actively managed with pre-scribed burning to maintain them in their
natural state. The understory appears to be dominated by Wiregrass (Aristida
stricta) and Gallberry (Ilex
glabra), but actually may contain
hundreds of plants species. Some pinelands, like the "flatwoods" on
Fairpoint Peninsula (right), have a similar species composition, but can have
slash pine (Pinus elliotii)
replacing Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) where they grade into Wet Prairies

The Longleaf Pine/Wiregrass Community once covered over 70 million acres in the
south, but there remains only 2.5 to 3 million acres. Only 3,000 of those acres
represent old growth forest. These habitats are xerophytic and fire dependent.
Unlike the hardwood forest, very little
organic humus accumulates. Often the bare mineral soil is exposed. A mature
longleaf pine forest has an open canopy that allows sunlight to flood the
forest floor. Consequently, although the species richness of the canopy is low
(only 1!), more than 200 species of herbaceous plants and grasses can be found
on the forest floor. Spring-summer lightning season fires or prescribed burning
are required to maintain this habitat type. Fire suppression and fragmentation
has led to a great deal of this habitat becoming hardwood forest. Much of what
is left is actively managed with prescribed burning.

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris ) is
a long-lived tree, reaching 350-500 years. The seeds require bare mineral soil
for germination, and none survive in a seed bank. Initial growth has been
described as a "Grass" stage, which can persist for 3-15 years
during which dense needles protect apical bud from fire and insects. During
this time the plant develops a deep taproot for water and food storage.

Gallberry, or Inkberry (Ilex glabra),
is abundant and can form thickets in the understory.

This allows the plant to shoot up rapidly, without branches, to above ground
fire height. These sub canopy trees may remain in a suppressed state for long
periods if a suitable growth gap is unavailable.

Mature long leaf pine supported a tremendous timber industry (which has contributed
to its demise). The old growth wood was/is highly desirable for its strength,
weight and rot-resistance due to resin saturation (called heart-pine).

Red Cockaded Woodpeckers, Picoides
borealis, are an example of a
species that is dependent on the old growth trees. This woodpecker requires the
older trees that have sufficient heartwood in which to carve out a cavity. In
paticular they seek out trees with heart rot from a fungal species.Younger trees with greater amounts of
sapwood will flood a cavity with sap making it unusable. Red Cockaded
Woodpecker nesting trees are obvious from the copious white crystallized sap on
the bark. The birds actively peck into the sapwood around their nest holes so
that the sap runs down the tree to inhibit snakes from reaching their
nests.The birds exist in
ìclustersî of males with a single breeding pair.The sibling males are ìhelpersî aiding with egg incubation
and feeding of the young until they head off to start their own family
cluster.Females leave in search
of males to establish a new family group.Thus a lack of suitable nest cavity trees will limit population growth
and dispersal.

Wiregrass, Aristida stricta, seen in
the above photos, is also a lived species. Bunches of this perennial grass can
be older than the long leaf pines that tower above it. The bunches expand in
diameter with age. In some cases remnant Wiregrass can indicate forest
communities that were once long leaf pine habitat. For seed production a 2-4
week window for spring fire is required. Otherwise about 1% seed viability
occurs and seed dispersal is poor. Because it is long-lived, it can afford to
wait for the right kind of fire to produce viable seeds. Response to spring
fire is dramatic, with prolific growth making a sea of waist to chest high
grass that turns golden yellow in the fall.

Scrub Oaks are found as part of the groundcover/understory in these forests.
They are killed down to the roots after a fire, but grow back into low thickets
between fires. Like wiregrass, their seed production (acorns) is stimulated by
fire, producing food for wildlife. Single individuals may cover an acre with an
extensive root system and many shoots/trees.

Gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus
, are considered a keystone species in these habitats, with about 40 species known
to be commensals, some obligate, in using tortoise burrows for shelter. One
tortoise may have multiple burrows, providing cool moist habitat in an other
wise dry environ.